Agriculture in the Fertile Crescent

Roughly 100 kilometres from its source, the Tigris River is already an important river for agriculture just outside Diyarbakir,

Turkey. Photo by: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, from Wikipedia

The Fertile Crescent is in the region of the Middle East and Mediterranean Basin. Today it is

the countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian areas and

Egypt. Even parts of Turkey and Iran were in the Fertile Crescent.

This area is seen as the birthplace of agriculture. Seven thousand years ago, this area was not

as dry as it is today. It was blessed with fertile soil, two great rivers (the Euphrates and the

Tigris), and hills and mountains to the north.

By Ancient History Encyclopedia, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.02.17

Word Count 572

Level 950L

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Geography

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The region produced a wide variety of crops. In very good years, up to 100 times more grain

was harvested than in an average year. Many harvests were destroyed by drought or flooding.

Artificial irrigation systems existed, but people preferred to rely on the rainy, hilly areas to

ensure a more even spread of rainfall.

In the drier regions, agriculture was only possible with irrigation canals. The Urartians were the

masters of canal building. Many of their irrigation systems still exist. The main canals were

generally created and maintained by the state, and the small ones by the farmers themselves

or the local communities. Irrigated farmland, as is still the case today, was under constant

threat of salination. Irrigated water contains salt solids that can be left behind when the water

evaporates. Salt can then build up to high levels that makes it more difficult for plants to get

water from the soil. It may even kill the crops.

The soil, particularly in the flood plains of Babylonia and Assyria, often dried up, hardened and

cracked. In order to keep the soil healthy, the plow had to be used. By 3000 B.C. plows were

known and in wide use. Many Assyrian kings boasted of having invented a new, improved

type of plow.

Crops

The main types of grain that were used for agriculture were wheat, barley and millet. Rye and

oats were not yet known for agricultural use. In Babylonia, Assyria and the Hittite lands, barley

was the main grain for human use: It was widely used to buy other goods, and flat bread was

made from it. The smallest unit of weight was the equivalent of one grain (1/22 g). Beer and

luxury foods were made from wheat.

Other agricultural products included sesame, which was widely cultivated and used to make

oil. Olive oil was produced in the mountains. Flax was used to make linen cloth. Peas were

cultivated in Mesopotamia, while lentils were preferred in Palestine. Figs, pomegranate, apple

and pistachio groves were found throughout the Fertile Crescent. In villages and cities of

southern Mesopotamia, groves of date palms were common. The dates were eaten either

fresh or dried, and palm wood was also used in crafts, but not in construction.

Harvest and storage

Harvest required significant manpower, as there was immense time pressure to complete the

harvest before winter set in. Grain was cut with a sickle, dried in shacks and threshed by

driving animals over it to "tread out" the grain. This removed the husk from the grain. The grain

was then either stored in granaries, or transported away along the waterways. Sometimes it

was even exported to other countries. In the granaries, cats and mongooses were used to

protect the stored grain from mice.

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Quiz

1 Read the section "Geography."

Select the sentence from the section that suggests that agricultural technology was a source of

pride.

(A) In very good years, up to 100 times more grain was harvested than in an

average year.

(B) Artificial irrigation systems existed, but people preferred to rely on the rainy,

hilly areas to ensure a more even spread of rainfall.

(C) The main canals were generally created and maintained by the state, and the

small ones by the farmers themselves or the local communities.

(D) Many Assyrian kings boasted of having invented a new, improved type of plow.

2 Which paragraph from the section "Crops" or "Harvest and storage" supports the inference that

places outside of the Fertile Crescent did NOT produce as much grain?

3 Read the sentence from the section "Geography."

Artificial irrigation systems existed, but people preferred to rely on therainy, hilly areas to ensure a more even spread of rainfall.

Which of the following words, if it replaced the word "artificial" in the sentence above, would

CHANGE the meaning of the sentence?

(A) fictitious

(B) unnatural

(C) fabricated

(D) manufactured

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4 Read the following sentence from the section "Harvest and storage." Then, fill in the blank.

Harvest required significant manpower, as there was immense timepressure to complete the harvest before winter set in.

The word "immense" in the sentence above tells the reader that ____.

(A) the time pressure was boring

(B) the time pressure was massive

(C) the time pressure was shocking

(D) the time pressure was never-ending

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